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The National College for Leadership and Teaching report on Waltham Forest head Ludiya Besisira: a tale of dishonesty and almost total regulatory failure UPDATED

December 7, 2015 Cllr. Chris Robbins, EduAction, LBWF, Ludiya Besisira

‘I would like to take this opportunity to thank the headteacher, Ludiya Besisira and her staff for all their hard work in improving the school and attaining an excellent Ofsted report’ (Cllr. Chris Robbins, portfolio holder, to LBWF Cabinet, October 2008) In October 2015, the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) published its adjudication on allegations made against Ms. Ludiya Besisira, headteacher at Mission Grove Primary School in Walthamstow from 2001 to 2010 (NCTL, Ludiya Besisira: Professional conduct panel outcome (October 2015)). It does not make pleasant reading. The NCTL finds against Ms. Besisira on twelve separate counts, many of them serious, establishi... »

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Cllr. Johar Khan ‘suspended pending the result of an investigation’

December 2, 2015 Cllr. Johar Khan, E11 BID Co., the Labour Party in Waltham Forest, Waltham Forest Labour Party

I have written before about Cllr. Johar Khan, noting in particular his puzzling relationship with the by now notorious E11 BID Co.. This afternoon, the Waltham Forest Guardian reports ‘A Labour Party spokesman’ as saying: ‘“We can confirm Cllr Khan has been suspended pending the result of an investigation.”’ Coincidentally, in the last few days, I have received an anonymous letter about Cllr. Khan, which also alleges that the local Labour Party is involved in a cover up. I am aware that Cllr. Khan has some political enemies, for instance those who have not forgiven him for his role in the implosion of the local Liberal Party. It will be interesting to see what now tra... »

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LBWF and the fight against ISIS

November 27, 2015 ISIS, LBWF, Prevent

As a previous post has indicated, there are serious questions to be asked about Waltham Forest’s attempts to confront local Islamist extremists. The record over the past decade has been at best mixed, and includes some embarrassing failures. The fact that LBWF will not discuss its current Prevent programme in any detail only adds to the sense that someone, somewhere is afraid of further revelations. LBWF Chief Executive Martin Esom may think of himself as an expert in this area, and chair the London Prevent Board, but whether the local authority as a whole is fulfilling its responsibilities remains unclear. Two recent events increase anxieties. First, a Channel Four investigation reveals tha... »

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North London Ltd. and a shortfall of £101,822

November 24, 2015 North London Ltd., Waltham Forest Business Board

Some significant new evidence has just emerged about North London Ltd. (NLL). In general terms, NLL continues to intrigue. For here is a private company that was paid hundreds of thousand of pounds by public authorities (including LBWF, some directly, and some routed through the Waltham Forest Business Board’s Waltham Forest Business CIC); handed its directors generous remuneration and other benefits (a whacking £314,897 in the three year period 2004-07 alone); but left an unexpectedly faint footprint in terms of recorded outputs and accomplishments. Indeed, up to now, in truth, it has been difficult to fathom exactly why NLL existed at all. The new evidence cuts through some of the mu... »

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Waltham Forest Labour in turmoil

November 23, 2015 Cllr. Shabana Dhedi/Qadir, John Cryer MP, Stella Creasy MP, Waltham Forest Labour Party

Word reaches me from a number of sources that Waltham Forest Labour’s woes show no sign of abating. The longstanding subterranean infighting between factions continues, as does the jockeying for position to succeed the Leader, Cllr. Robbins. But in addition, the party is now swamped by new members, few of whom have much idea about, or interest in, its traditional ways of doing things, and some of whom seem intent on a purge. Reactions to this influx vary. On the surface, there is obeisance to the mantra that ‘Jeremy has galvanized a new politics’. But in private, the feeling is one of doom and gloom. Some long-time members are dismayed by the thought of having to embrace old enemies on... »

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